It wasn't until I had the chance to visit Indonesia that I realized how different two cultures could be. My father is a typical Chinese while my mother is a Chinese Indonesian. When traveling to Indonesia for the first time, I experienced culture shock which is “a feeling a person can experience when moving from one cultural environment to another” (p15). Cultural differences often lead to culture shock and thus create intercultural conflicts and misunderstandings. FAMILY CULTURE Each culture has specific cultural patterns that inevitably come into conflict with each other, which unfortunately led to conflict between me and my Indonesian relative. As Indonesia has a culture of strong power distance (106), its society is very stratified and hierarchical. (p106) Hofstede said that in a culture of high power distance, every decision is made at the top and children are expected to obey elders without challenge or questioning. (p106) On the second day of my visit, my uncle took me to Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta. Suddenly, my uncle lit a cigarette and smoked in the air-conditioned private car! I felt like I was going to die as a passive smoker because I suffered from reactive airway disease. “Don’t you Indonesians find smoking disgusting and unhealthy? I said. Then, through the rearview mirror, I saw that my uncle had a sullen face and the compartment then remained silent. Soon, during a conversation with my mother, I discovered that Indonesians were very tolerant of people smoking indoors. When I reflect on my behavior, no matter how disgusting I found smoking, I shouldn't have held my teeth against it when getting along with people from a high power distance culture. To act out of respect (p68), I should have instead spoken in a softer tone like "Uncle, could you...... middle of paper......in Cantonese which was a language that the natives probably spoke I don't understand. FINAL THOUGHTS It is now clear to me that very often it is the minor cultural differences that create the biggest culture shock. I really enjoyed my experience in Jakarta because I felt very good and happy there with the attention of my loved ones even though there were several clashes between us. Showing respect is an important magick that helps minimize conflict. Additionally, to alleviate the stress of culture shock, it is important to keep a very open mind so that I can always adapt to new things. Accept experiences and realize that it is the differences that make this world unique and interesting. When experiencing a new culture, trust in yourself that you have the motivation and energy to experience a new culture that will inevitably make your experience valuable and unforgettable..